Senator Cantwell put together a state-centric public option and the amendment passed the Finance Committee by one vote. Details:
It would be available to people with incomes above Medicaid eligibility but below 200 percent of the federal poverty level -- a very narrow window. However, Republicans fear -- and progressives hope -- that once the plan becomes law there will be pressure to expand it.
The plan would not be free. It is based on Washington state's Basic Health plan, which costs roughly 60 dollars a month, with the remainder of the premium subsidized by the state.
At first glance, it's not terrible, but still weak. The good news is that it's something that can be expanded. And, legislatively, there's a solid chance it could be beefed up when combined with the HELP bill in the Senate and then the House bill in conference. I would be shocked if the 200 percent above FPL remains at that level and not expanded to 400 percent.
Adding... Yes, this is really watered down and I haven't had a chance to totally digest it. But there's serious life in the public option. All of the healthcare reform bills now contain a federally funded insurance option of some sort. Considering where we were a month ago, this is good news.
UPDATE: Blanche Lincoln was the only Democratic 'no' vote. Pathetic.
UPDATE 2: Ron Wyden may have snuck a back-door single-payer provision into the Finance bill as well -- not an amendment, either. It's already in the bill and it doesn't explicitly call for single-payer or a public option, but states could choose to use the federal fund to form a single-payer system if they wanted to. Crazy.